Three teenagers injured in ATV accidents

WASILLA — A pair of relatively serious wrecks involving ATVs sent teenagers to the hospital over the weekend.

The first came at 5:12 p.m. Saturday when a 15-year-old driver with a 15-year-old passenger rolled an ATV near Mile 1.5 of Vine Road.

The driver “lost control at a high rate of speed and overturned the ATV,” Alaska State Troopers report.

Both the driver and the passenger were thrown from the ATV and were rushed to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

The driver, whose injuries were apparently worse than the passenger’s, was later transferred to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Troopers say neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.

The second wreck came not eight hours later, shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. Troopers say an ATV driver, again a 15-year-old, was crossing Bogard Road near its intersection with Stoney Hollow Drive.

The driver “did not yield to traffic on Bogard Road and hit the side of a silver Buick LeSabre,” troopers report.

The ATV driver was hospitalized at Mat-Su Regional. No one in the Buick was hurt. The teen was cited for not yielding.

Alaska State Troopers say ATV use is mostly out of their purview — it’s illegal to drive ATVs on roadways in Alaska. But Capt. Hans Brinke with the troopers’ Bureau of Highway Patrol did offer some friendly advice.

“When people are off road you have to take into consideration your surroundings, your environmental conditions, your experience level with ATVs,” he said.

Since ATVs are banned from the roads, there really isn’t a speed limit per-se. But Brinke said riders should take all of the factors he listed into account when deciding how fast to drive.

He said ATVs are allowed to briefly drive on roads if the intent is a straight shot across the road. But it’s the ATV-rider’s duty to be alert and watch for cars.

“They do not have the right of way. Cars have the right of way,” Brinke said.

And although the only helmet law in Alaska mandates passengers on motorcycles — but not drivers — must wear helmets, Brinke said troopers strongly encourage helmet use on ATVs.

“It’s definitely a very wise thing to do to wear a helmet when you’re using off-road vehicles,” Brinke said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.